The Socorro City Council drama has now spilled over to the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization -- the autonomous board that helps make the region's transportation plans.

Socorro Mayor Willie Gandara Sr. has been facing almost weekly requests for his resignation since his arrest and indictment on public-corruption charges last month. Many of those calls for his resignation are coming from members of his own Socorro City Council who also oppose his representing Socorro on the MPO board.

The MPO board is made up of 28 elected and appointed officials from throughout El Paso and southern Doña Ana counties.

Socorro has traditionally been represented by its mayors. But last month, the Socorro council voted to appoint city Rep. Willie Madrid to the MPO board instead of Gandara.

Gandara, though, continues to serve on the MPO.

"After speaking to our lawyer and looking at our bylaws, we have determined that the representative from Socorro on the MPO needs to be the mayor or his designee," said El Paso city Rep. Steve Ortega, the chairman of the board. "Therefore, we still recognize Mayor Gandara as a voting member of the MPO."

Manny Soto, Socorro's acting city manager, spoke to the committee Friday and informed it of the council's decision to have Madrid represent the city. He also outlined a legal explanation that would allow someone other than the mayor to serve on the MPO board.

Ultimately, though, the board took no action on the matter, and Gandara resumed his duties as an MPO board member.

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MPO changes

The MPO board approved changes to its bylaws during its latest meeting on Friday.

Most noteworthy is the addition of a city of Anthony, N.M., representative to the board. The city incorporated just this year, and the board gives a seat at the table to any municipality in the region.

Anthony's first representative on the board is Mayor Ramon Gonzalez.

The board also reaffirmed its commitment to stay away from proxy voting procedures, which allow members to cast votes even when they're absent from meetings.

Attendance rules were also toughened, and members are now required to miss no more meetings a year without a viable excuse. Those who don't comply with the new rule would lose their voting privileges for the rest of the year.

The 28-member board also established quorum for its meetings at 14 members, instead of the eight it had in its previous bylaws.

Quipped state Rep. Joe Pickett: "The city of El Paso has five representatives on the board, so if they could find three friends, they could rule the world."

MPO offices

The MPO also made an early non-binding commitment to share office space at the new Sun Metro headquarters once that building opens in 2013.

Sun Metro is building a large facility near Montana Avenue and Global Reach Drive that will house most, if not all, bus operations and administrative offices.

The MPO board said it is interested in moving into the building and moving out of its current Gateway West Boulevard offices.

Officials said the MPO pays $84,000 in rent a year for 5,400 square feet. Their contract runs through next April, so for the time being the MPO offices are going to stay put.

Gustavo Reveles Acosta covers growth and transportation for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at greveles@elpasotimes.com; 546-6133. His Twitter account is @TimesCommuter.